Ciliate Protozoa from the Rumens of Japanese Serows (Capricornis crispus) Captured in the Northern Part of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan

Abstract

Ciliate fauna collected from the rumens of eight wild Japanese serows (Capricornis crispus) captured in the northern part of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, were compared with the ciliate faunas found in other Japanese wild ruminants. We identified six species belonging to two genera of ciliates (Entodinium nanellum, Ent. minimum, Ent. simplex, Ent. dubardi, Ent. longinucleatum, and Elytroplastron bubali), all of which had been reported in a previous study examining the rumen contents of Japanese serows in Gifu and Miyagi Prefectures. However, four of the previously identified ciliate species (Dasytricha ruminantium, Ent. lobosospinosum, Ent. ekendrae, and Epidinium ecaudatum) were not detected in this study. Ely. bubali was detected frequently, suggesting that this species is characteristic of the rumen of Japanese serows. Furthermore, the six ciliate species in this study were observed in over 70% of the studied serows, suggesting that these ciliate species are widely distributed in the rumens of serows in this study area.